Canada opens vs. Slovakia

World Junior Championship schedule and website released

Host Canada will have its first face-off at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship against Slovakia in Montreal’s Centre Bell. Photo: Francois Laplante / HHOF-IIHF Images

The schedule for the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship has been released on Tuesday along with the official website, www.worldjunior2015.com.

The 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship opens with defending champion Finland taking on Team USA while host Canada plays Slovakia on 26 December in Montreal.

Group B in Toronto will start on the same day with Russia facing off against top division newcomers Denmark, and silver medallist Sweden playing the Czech Republic.

The event promises to be the biggest IIHF World Junior Championship ever and will be staged in two NHL arenas: Toronto’s Air Canada Centre and Montreal’s Bell Centre.

Host Canada will play its preliminary-round games in Group A, which will be hosted in Montreal and also includes defending champion Finland, the United States, Slovakia and Germany.

Group B in Toronto includes two medallists in 2014 – Sweden and Russia – as well as the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Denmark.

Ten preliminary-round games will be played 26-31 December in each city. Montreal will also host two quarter-final games on 2 January while Toronto will host the other two quarter-final games – including the one involving Team Canada – the best-of-three relegation round, both semi-final games on 4 January and the medal games on 5 January.

Montreal and Toronto will also host the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship but with reversed roles, as Montreal will host the playoff round. The 2016 edition will take place in Helsinki, Finland.

Event ticket packages are currently on sale in both cities. There are limited packages available in Toronto that can be purchased online or at the Air Canada Centre box office. The Montreal event package can be ordered online or at the Bell Centre box offices.

With the release of the schedule the official 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship website was launched at www.worldjunior2015.com and will inform fans about the upcoming event in English and French.

Hockey Canada will organize the 2015 and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships in collaboration with the International Ice Hockey Federation, Hockey Quebec, the Ontario Hockey Federation, the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, Evenko, and Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment.